Thomas the Tank Engine is a hugely successful cartoon, that has been in production since 1984, and at over 300 episodes is still going strong today. This page focuses on the first twelve seasons filmed at Shepperton Studios in England, however there are links in the resources section below to the official Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends websites, which show the changes Thomas has recently undergone from train models to CGI, to update the cartoon for the new century.
The Thomas the Tank Engine t.v. series was based on the Railway Series of children's books written by the Reverend W.V. Awdry for his son Christopher. Many of the events in the books were fictionalisations of events in Awdry's own experence. The show followed the exploits of a young train called Thomas and his many friends at the railway station, who were generally all old-fashioned steam trains. the stories were set on the fictional Island of Sodor and the trains were managed by Sir Topham Hatt (The Fat Controller). The original set of episodes filmed at Shepperton Studios were read by one narrator, many of the narrators over the lifetime of the show were celebrities, for example the first two series were read by Ringo Starr. The trains were actually moving models that had been created at Shepperton Studios, with the people and animals generally being static back-drops (close-ups were then done with stop-animation). During its 25th anniversary year in 2009, the show was modernised to begin using CGI (from series 12 onward), rather than train models, meaning that the characters themesleves were given even more human features that could be more easily animated. Another big change to the format was that from series 13, the trains were all given individual voices, rather than having one single narrator. Although I never really watched the cartoons a lot as a kid, I remember realy enjoying the Railway Series of books and the ealrier seasons of the cartoon, based on these books really manage to capture effectively the essence of the stories that makes them so popular with young children still today.
Thomas
Thomas is the hero of the cartoon series and bears a number 1 on his side. Thomas first appeared in the second book of the Railway Series, called Thomas the Tank Engine (which included 4 short stories about Thomas).
Gordon
Gordon the Big Engine has a number 4 on his side. Gordon thinks that he is more important than any of the other engines as he is the biggest engine, and he pulls the Express. Although Gordon is a little boastful and is very competitive, particularly if someone thinks they are faster than him, he is also brave and courageous when required.
Emily
Emily is the only female character in the core set of characters within the t.v. series. Emily has no number on her side, but is a distinctive dark green, with gold piping. Emily did not appear in the original Railway Series of books.
Toby
Toby is a tram engine that works on the same train line as Thomas. Toby is often responsible for hauling great loads of stone and granite up the line.
Percy
Percy the Small Engine has a number 6 on his side and is the youngest of the trainsin the series. Percy is very cheeky and likes to gently poke fun at Gordon. Percy, Thomas and Toby all work on the same line and are best friends, Percy often pulls the mail carriage.
James
James the Red Engine, carries the number 5 on his side. When Gordon is not available, James is one of the few engines allowed to pull the expres, as he is quite large in size. James is re-nowned as one of the more troublesome engines, he is always up to mischief.
Thomas the Tank Engine: Facts
Originally Aired: 1984 - present
Episodes: 13 seasons 321 episodes to date.
Length: 4 - 7 mins
Produced By: Britt Alfcort Company (1984-2000), Gullane Entertainment(2000), HIT Entertainment(2001-present)
Composers:Mike O'Donnell, Junior Campbell
Created By:Wilbert Awdry, Christopher Awdry, Britt Allcroft
Writer:Britt Allcroft(1984–1998) and David Mitton(1984–2003)
Voices:Ringo Starr(1984–1986), Michael Angelis(1991–), George Carlin (1991–1995)
Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends is still in production and has been since 1984! There are a staggering 300+ episodes as of Jan 2010. For details of all the episodes to date, check out this great set of pages at Wikipedia:
